Two years ago, husband-and-wife duo Emily and Brad Grohovsky of Madison County turned a passion for gardening into a budding business called Cedar Hill Gardens—helping others successfully grow their own vegetable and fruit gardens at home, with minimal time and effort.
Understanding that gardening can be an intimidating endeavor, Cedar Hill Gardens’ approach is unique in that it takes the journey with clients, step by step, from concept and design to complete installation and continued consultation. “Our mission is to help our clients grow as much food as they want in the space they have and the time they have without the overwhelm of figuring it all out themselves,” says Emily. “We visit monthly, call, text, and analyze your pictures. We tell you exactly when to pick your cucumbers and why your tomatoes aren’t ripening and sometimes, we’ll tell you just to be patient and let it grow. There’s nothing more rewarding for us than a text from a new client that says ‘I grew this!’ with a picture of a giant head of broccoli or a juicy heirloom tomato.”
Since its inception, the business has expanded its staff, built 40 turnkey gardens, and consulted in person, via video, or online with more than 300 clients. Whether Emily is creating garden designs or Brad is building custom cedar beds, the couple and their talented team are breaking barriers for all levels of gardeners.
“My motto has always been, ‘Green thumbs are not natural; they are learned,’” Emily says. “You have to give yourself some grace to learn, and you may kill a few plants in the process. That’s okay!”
A few words of advice Emily likes to share with beginning gardeners include:
1. Try growing in raised beds where you can control the soil quality a little bit more. Choose a material that goes with the aesthetic of your house and your personal physical needs, whether that’s a beautiful 24-inch-tall cedar bed or a custom steel bed that requires little to no maintenance. Even patio gardens can be wonderful with an assortment of beautiful containers.
2. Grow what you actually eat. It’s common to start out excited and try to grow every single thing—and then by August, you’re overwhelmed and tired of the garden. Pick five things you know you’ll use regularly in the kitchen and go from there.
3. Plant flowers with your veggies! Vegetables love flowers because they bring in pollinators. Your summer garden especially will be much more successful as bees and butterflies will make those squash and cucumbers really produce!”
For Lauren Pearce, a garden consultant with Cedar Hill Garden who especially loves nurturing seeds, the joy of growing her healthy food is priceless. “When I started gardening, it was an outlet for me to unwind from work and learn to do something new,” she says. “Eating the things I grew seemed almost magical. Gardening also allows me to show my boys where their food comes from and teach them to be connected to the outdoors in a society that constantly pulls people toward technology and away from each other.”
Growing an edible garden is not only a sustainable practice, but thanks to Mississippi’s lengthy, warmer climate, it can also be an enriching experience. “It gives us so much time to experiment, grow, shift gears, try new tactics, and just play in the garden,” Emily says. “I remember being told as a kid to ‘go play on the playground.’ The garden is my playground now, and it’s just icing on the cake that I get to share it with my children, family, neighbors, and friends.”
Eager to tend, grow, and watch this venture and its clients flourish, Emily is grateful for the chance to connect with and encourage others. “This business idea was born in 2020, during a time when everyone was redefining who they were and what was life-giving to them in their free time,” she adds. “For me, that looked like raising two babies under the age of two during a pandemic and needing an outlet for myself that was positive, intriguing, inherently good, and physically engaging. I never dreamed it would turn from a few tomatoes and heads of romaine planted in the Mississippi ‘Clay-doh’ to a family business that allows us to create outdoor living rooms and really sweet memories for other people in Mississippi and beyond.”
cedarhillgardens.com
